celebridades
/θelebɾidades/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'celebrities' is translated into Spanish as celebridades.
A common alternative used in everyday speech is famosos, which means famous people. If you want to be more formal, you can use personajes conocidos, meaning known figures. In some contexts, you might also see figuras públicas (public figures) or personajes famosos (famous characters).
Which one should you use?
While celebridades is a direct cognate of the English word, using famosos often feels more natural in casual conversation when referring to people in the public eye.
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form of the noun is celebridad. Because the noun is feminine, the singular indefinite article used is una celebridad.
How do you pronounce it?
/θelebɾidades/
Did you know?
- When talking about celebrities in a slightly mocking or critical way, Spanish speakers might use the term estrellilla, which is a diminutive of estrella (star).
- The word celebridad shares a root with celebrar, meaning 'to celebrate'. In Spanish, being a celebrity is linguistically tied to the act of being celebrated by a crowd.
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, if you refer to a celebrity as a personaje, you might accidentally imply they are a 'character' in a fictional sense or a particularly colorful, eccentric figure rather than just a famous person.
Examples in context
- Sacar del clóset a celebridades gay es una práctica controversial.Outing closeted, gay celebrities is a controversial practice.This sentence is useful for discussing the controversial practice of outing gay celebridades.Tatoeba #1214195 by El_mas_capo, translation #1210992 by darinmex
- Jennifer Lopez es una de las famosas más reconocidas en el mundo del entretenimiento.Jennifer Lopez is one of the most recognized celebrities in the entertainment world.
- A muchos famosillos les encanta estar en el centro de atención.Many minor celebrities love being in the spotlight.
- El programa de televisión cuenta con la presencia de estrellas internacionales.The television show features the presence of international stars.
- Las celebridades suelen vivir en esta ciudad.Celebrities usually live in this city.
- No me interesan las noticias sobre celebridades.I am not interested in news about celebrities.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are talking about a magazine at a cafe.
- Mateo¿Leíste la sección de celebridades hoy?Did you read the celebrities section today?
- LucíaNo, Mateo, prefiero leer sobre ciencia.No, Mateo, I prefer reading about science.
- MateoEs una lástima, hay fotos muy buenas.It is a shame, there are very good photos.
- LucíaPrefiero no saber qué hacen las celebridades.I prefer not to know what celebrities are doing.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
